I hate to sound like a broken record, but engrossing as the military events in Ukraine are—and there is currently speculation about possibly significant developments—the economic/financial war is the big enchilada, so to speak. Just as the military aspects continuously develop, so too does the transformation of the world financial/monetary system. Russia and China, and other countries as well (Saudi Arabia comes to mind, but Iran, India—the list does go on), have King Dollar in their sights. Their aim is to break free from the tyranny of the dollar as the world reserve currency.
Pumping up the US defence budget won't change a damn thing. How will buying more F35s and Abrams tanks change things? These weapons are no longer what wins wars. It will just tank the economy without changing the battlefield. And the biggest point wasn't mentioned: as the US neocons dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole, the more likely they are to lash out with extreme prejudice for the whole human race.
The US does not design, much less produce military equipment for a War of attrition. Slow rates of production, very long procurement cycle, too many bells and whistles, with a very high cost per item, and questionable how superior. Quantity has a quality of its own.
And our competitors have studied US / Western successes and defeats from the Gulf War, Yugoslavia, Syria, Iraq, Libya, etc.
Pumping up the US defence budget won't change a damn thing. How will buying more F35s and Abrams tanks change things? These weapons are no longer what wins wars. It will just tank the economy without changing the battlefield. And the biggest point wasn't mentioned: as the US neocons dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole, the more likely they are to lash out with extreme prejudice for the whole human race.
I don’t see an immediate danger on the military front.
Russia is going to continue to annihilate Ukrainian forces (native and foreign) and equipment, in a lopsided war of attrition, while being careful not to overstretch their supply lines and ability to control territories. Slowly taking more Ukrainian territory, when advantageous. My guess is within 6 months Ukraine will be landlocked.
The economic issues are split into short term, and longer term. Longer term the dollar will be weakened being used for trade, so the us will be limited on exporting its inflation and ability to run huge deficits.
Shorter term the hike in interest rates, caused by an attempt to avoid hyper inflation, should force more less borrowing by the us government. Basically they will have exceeded their credit card limit. A lot of inflation is caused deliberately by build back better, that is destroying the Western fossil fuel industry. Interest rates are still in negative territory compared to the official, much less real rate of inflation.
Coming crises are the deliberate uncontrolled illegal immigration in Europe and the US, and the deliberately artificially caused food shortages.
The next two remaining years of Biden’s reign will be way too interesting. I hope the people that enabled him to steal the election, are suffering the fate they deserve.
I think you're right re the long term. Losing exclusive reserve status will enforce fiscal discipline, but that will likely mean political and cultural discipline as well.
Earlier today I was listening to Alexander Mercouris fielding questions. One question was what he really thought about Hillary. He said she's one of the most dangerous and despicable politicians on the planet. Then he quoted an article he said he wrote in 2016, saying that by spreading the Russia Hoax stories she was "planting a bomb under American democracy."
Yep. She lost two elections she should have won, so now democracy has to die. And now we have Trump saying the same thing for '24 that she did in '16: "It's my turn!"
How any sentient being cannot see and understand the imminent peril that the US faces both fiscally and militarily is quite beyond my ability to grasp. You don’t have to be a West Point or a Harvard Business graduate to realize that we are rapidly reaching the point of no return with this neocon created nightmare.
The very idea that the US is in a position to sustain a major war with Russia and or China is laughable at best and insanity at worst.
You think China would continue to supply
the US needs to enable it to fight a war with it’s allies? Don’t think so. If China in particular and the rest of the world in general stop buying our debt do you think that we can continue with business as usual in this country? Don’t think so. If the dollar winds up being tossed out on it’s ass as a global reserve currency, you think Washington will finally pay attention? Maybe, but it might be too late by then.
I think that the admonition is “pride goeth before the fall and a haughty spirit before destruction”. These folks attempt to defy history and Providence will surely fail and the cost will be enormous.
Thx for your continued work Mark, it makes the monumental task of winnowing the truth from all the “static and propaganda” that passes for news and journalism a little less daunting.
Yogi Berra, seeing wokesters a long way off: 'In theory it works in practice. In practice it doesn't work in theory'. Something like that. Should be spray painted on the walls of the Ivies. Just like introducing Dunning Kruger to neocons and congress.
Hopefully the end of dollar imperialism is beginning of the end of whole imperial order set up by Harry Truman to which US taxpayers remain enslaved: "The United States government of today is arguably more Truman’s than it is any other president’s, one of thoughtless cruelty and mechanized violence, of lawless, arbitrary power exercised by an officialdom responsible to no one.”...3/20/2019, “Was Harry Truman one of the worst terrorists of all time? If words mean anything anymore–then absolutely, yes.” David S. D’Amato
Why start with Truman? I’d say he was just one in a long line of culprits. How about FDR or Professor Wilson? Let’s not forget all those who came after them, including Republicans like the Bushies and St. Ronald Reagan himself. Scoundrels all.
For me, the first of a long line of villains was Theodore Roosevelt. He had this over-active macho desire to seize "manifest destiny" and create an American empire.
Absolutely, I'm glad you mentioned Teddy, a massive neocon warmonger--hence McCain's admiration of him. Interesting that we got two major warmonger presidents by "appointment." Teddy was appointed president after the murder of Pres. McKinley. Truman was appointed pres. after death of FDR.
Very true, without Wilson we probably wouldn't have gotten to Truman, who was effectively appointed to the presidency by elites at 1944 Dem. convention--against the will of the rank and file. Elites put on a campaign to remove FDR's sitting VP, Wallace, and install Truman. They knew FDR had only a few months to live, thus guaranteeing warmonger Truman a minimum of 4 yrs in office. He didn't even have a VP to worry about, wasn't required at the time.
FWIW, I believe the neocons and globalists, the elitists who control Western governments, believe that the human race is so inherently flawed that the people cannot be trusted -- the people cannot be permitted -- to rule themselves. Forget the truths encapsulated in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. Forget inherent human rights and the right of people to form governments.
The elitist solution is to take all power and ultimately impose a borderless one world government, of course, run by them. Then, this power will take Russia down, and then China. And then impose a global currency.
I'll wager we'll see, soon, how that plan's going to work out.
Pumping up the US defence budget won't change a damn thing. How will buying more F35s and Abrams tanks change things? These weapons are no longer what wins wars. It will just tank the economy without changing the battlefield. And the biggest point wasn't mentioned: as the US neocons dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole, the more likely they are to lash out with extreme prejudice for the whole human race.
The US does not design, much less produce military equipment for a War of attrition. Slow rates of production, very long procurement cycle, too many bells and whistles, with a very high cost per item, and questionable how superior. Quantity has a quality of its own.
And our competitors have studied US / Western successes and defeats from the Gulf War, Yugoslavia, Syria, Iraq, Libya, etc.
Let's not forget significant raw materials for modern military reside in .... wait for it.... wait for it... Russia and China.
Pumping up the US defence budget won't change a damn thing. How will buying more F35s and Abrams tanks change things? These weapons are no longer what wins wars. It will just tank the economy without changing the battlefield. And the biggest point wasn't mentioned: as the US neocons dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole, the more likely they are to lash out with extreme prejudice for the whole human race.
Sorry for the double post.
You can delete. Click on … and remove all your text.
I don’t see an immediate danger on the military front.
Russia is going to continue to annihilate Ukrainian forces (native and foreign) and equipment, in a lopsided war of attrition, while being careful not to overstretch their supply lines and ability to control territories. Slowly taking more Ukrainian territory, when advantageous. My guess is within 6 months Ukraine will be landlocked.
The economic issues are split into short term, and longer term. Longer term the dollar will be weakened being used for trade, so the us will be limited on exporting its inflation and ability to run huge deficits.
Shorter term the hike in interest rates, caused by an attempt to avoid hyper inflation, should force more less borrowing by the us government. Basically they will have exceeded their credit card limit. A lot of inflation is caused deliberately by build back better, that is destroying the Western fossil fuel industry. Interest rates are still in negative territory compared to the official, much less real rate of inflation.
Coming crises are the deliberate uncontrolled illegal immigration in Europe and the US, and the deliberately artificially caused food shortages.
The next two remaining years of Biden’s reign will be way too interesting. I hope the people that enabled him to steal the election, are suffering the fate they deserve.
Seems a plausible scenario.
I think you're right re the long term. Losing exclusive reserve status will enforce fiscal discipline, but that will likely mean political and cultural discipline as well.
@Mark; "that will" or is it "will that"?
Fiscal discipline will be the easy part compared to political and cultural discipline.
Earlier today I was listening to Alexander Mercouris fielding questions. One question was what he really thought about Hillary. He said she's one of the most dangerous and despicable politicians on the planet. Then he quoted an article he said he wrote in 2016, saying that by spreading the Russia Hoax stories she was "planting a bomb under American democracy."
Yep. She lost two elections she should have won, so now democracy has to die. And now we have Trump saying the same thing for '24 that she did in '16: "It's my turn!"
How any sentient being cannot see and understand the imminent peril that the US faces both fiscally and militarily is quite beyond my ability to grasp. You don’t have to be a West Point or a Harvard Business graduate to realize that we are rapidly reaching the point of no return with this neocon created nightmare.
The very idea that the US is in a position to sustain a major war with Russia and or China is laughable at best and insanity at worst.
You think China would continue to supply
the US needs to enable it to fight a war with it’s allies? Don’t think so. If China in particular and the rest of the world in general stop buying our debt do you think that we can continue with business as usual in this country? Don’t think so. If the dollar winds up being tossed out on it’s ass as a global reserve currency, you think Washington will finally pay attention? Maybe, but it might be too late by then.
I think that the admonition is “pride goeth before the fall and a haughty spirit before destruction”. These folks attempt to defy history and Providence will surely fail and the cost will be enormous.
Thx for your continued work Mark, it makes the monumental task of winnowing the truth from all the “static and propaganda” that passes for news and journalism a little less daunting.
Yogi Berra, seeing wokesters a long way off: 'In theory it works in practice. In practice it doesn't work in theory'. Something like that. Should be spray painted on the walls of the Ivies. Just like introducing Dunning Kruger to neocons and congress.
At the least, I hope that the stale 'expert' manufacturing mills like Harvard collapse along w/the economy.
Hopefully the end of dollar imperialism is beginning of the end of whole imperial order set up by Harry Truman to which US taxpayers remain enslaved: "The United States government of today is arguably more Truman’s than it is any other president’s, one of thoughtless cruelty and mechanized violence, of lawless, arbitrary power exercised by an officialdom responsible to no one.”...3/20/2019, “Was Harry Truman one of the worst terrorists of all time? If words mean anything anymore–then absolutely, yes.” David S. D’Amato
Why start with Truman? I’d say he was just one in a long line of culprits. How about FDR or Professor Wilson? Let’s not forget all those who came after them, including Republicans like the Bushies and St. Ronald Reagan himself. Scoundrels all.
For me, the first of a long line of villains was Theodore Roosevelt. He had this over-active macho desire to seize "manifest destiny" and create an American empire.
Absolutely, I'm glad you mentioned Teddy, a massive neocon warmonger--hence McCain's admiration of him. Interesting that we got two major warmonger presidents by "appointment." Teddy was appointed president after the murder of Pres. McKinley. Truman was appointed pres. after death of FDR.
Very true, without Wilson we probably wouldn't have gotten to Truman, who was effectively appointed to the presidency by elites at 1944 Dem. convention--against the will of the rank and file. Elites put on a campaign to remove FDR's sitting VP, Wallace, and install Truman. They knew FDR had only a few months to live, thus guaranteeing warmonger Truman a minimum of 4 yrs in office. He didn't even have a VP to worry about, wasn't required at the time.
You got that right BA
FWIW, I believe the neocons and globalists, the elitists who control Western governments, believe that the human race is so inherently flawed that the people cannot be trusted -- the people cannot be permitted -- to rule themselves. Forget the truths encapsulated in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. Forget inherent human rights and the right of people to form governments.
The elitist solution is to take all power and ultimately impose a borderless one world government, of course, run by them. Then, this power will take Russia down, and then China. And then impose a global currency.
I'll wager we'll see, soon, how that plan's going to work out.